New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday that he had “sincere and comprehensive talks” with his counterpart S. Jaishankar on the Peace Formula and its implementation.
Landing in the capital on Thursday on a two-day official visit, Kuleba said he intends to build on the dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace.
“In New Delhi, I had sincere and comprehensive talks with @DrSJaishankar about Ukrainian-Indian bilateral relations, the situation in our regions, and global security,” Kuleba said in a post on X after meeting EAM Jaishankar.
“We paid specific attention to the Peace Formula and next steps on the path of its implementation,” the leader, on his first visit to India, said.
On October 11, 2022, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a “peace formula” before the leaders of G7 nations for “just and long-lasting peace” in the region.
It calls for the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the release of all prisoners of war, and restoration of the country’s territorial integrity.
Kuleba’s remarks came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday dismissed the 10-point plan, asserting that it is pointless to ask Moscow to withdraw its troops from areas it currently occupies.
In an interview published in Russian daily Izvestia on Friday, Lavrov said: “We are in any case ready to hold discussions but not on the basis of (President Volodymyr) Zelensky’s “peace formula”, The Kyiv Independent reported.
“How could any serious politician in Washington, Brussels, London, Paris, or Berlin say that there is no alternative to the Zelensky formula,” Lavrov added.
Ukraine also hopes for India’s participation in a peace summit to be held in Switzerland later this year to discuss the peace formula.
The Kyiv Independent reported that “over 160 countries will be invited to discuss Kyiv’s peace formula and create a joint document on what must be done to restore the country’s sovereignty”.
Earlier, EAM Jaishankar said that his “open and wide-ranging conversation” with Kuleba focused on the ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications.
–IANS
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